Kerala’s Education Minister V Sivankutty has strongly criticised the NCERT’s recent move to rename English-medium textbooks with Hindi titles, calling it illogical and a threat to the country’s linguistic diversity. He accused the central government of attempting a cultural imposition by replacing familiar English titles with Hindi ones in English-medium books, such as renaming ‘Honeysuckle’ to ‘Poorvi’ and introducing new titles like ‘Mridang’ and ‘Santoor’. According to Sivankutty, this decision disregards the importance of linguistic sensitivity in education and undermines the values that have shaped textbook naming for decades.
The Minister emphasized Kerala’s commitment to linguistic and cultural diversity, stating that the move by NCERT violates both federal principles and constitutional values. He argued that titles in school textbooks play a key role in shaping children’s understanding and imagination, and English-medium students should not be forced to adapt to titles in a different language. He urged NCERT to withdraw the decision and called on other non-Hindi-speaking states to join in resisting such actions.
This issue has reignited the ongoing national debate over the imposition of Hindi through the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Other states like Tamil Nadu have also raised similar objections in the past, with Chief Minister MK Stalin accusing the Centre of denying funds to states that refuse to implement the three-language formula. The controversy highlights growing concerns over language-based centralisation in education and its potential impact on India’s cultural and regional diversity.
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